Book Review – Strands: Creating Unexpected Fabrics and Fashionable Projects

Strands: Creating Unexpected Fabrics and Fashionable Projects by Jacqueline Myers-Cho

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: North Light Books (January 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1600611370
ISBN-13: 978-1600611377

Jacqueline Myers-Cho is an award-winning mixed-media artist who’s been showing and selling her work for more than twenty years. She is also a longtime online friend of mine so when she told me about her new book, I could not wait to get it!!!!

Strands is a fantastic fabric art book that will make you look at your fabric in a whole new way!!! The feel of this book is “organic urban”, when you see it you’ll know exactly what I mean. Modern and edgy but still down to earth and wearable. In this book you create fabric, do some unusual and unique fabric embellishments then make clothing, jewelry and accessories from that fabric. I don’t know which is my favorite in this chapter-the paper fabric you make from scratch or the puff ball embellished fabric. I think I am going to combine the two and make puff ball paper fabric!

The book starts with tools and supplies you will need and basic sewing how-to’s, so that even a non sewer can feel comfortable making the projects. Part one is the “Fabric from Strands”,Part 2 are the projects that include clothing, jewelry, accessories and outerwear.

The jewelry chapter includes 7 projects: Smidgeon Ball Necklace, Pulp Wear Cuff, Grass Root Pendant, Sparks Ring, Leftover Length Ball Necklace, Dewey Decimal Pendant and Remains Wrapped Necklace. The accessories include: Remnants Belt, Eco Stitch Brooch, Red Hot Night Clutch, Tree on the Go Key Fob and Trendy Green Belt.

i am completely in love with the Remains Wrapped Necklace project. I am going to be digging thru my own supplies this weekend to make one. The Smidgeon Balls are just TOOO CUTE!!! Like tiny balls of yarn, they look good as a solitary focal pendant or in graduated sizes and strung together.

While this isn’t a book just on jewelrymaking, if you would like to experiment with making fabric jewelry this is a great book for your library.

This week’s Book Review Wednesday pick is 3D Beaded Animal Crafts for Kids, and I’ll admit this one is another of those books that makes me pause for a moment and ask, “Does this belong in Jewelry Making, Kids Crafts, or somewhere in between?”

Technically, it is not jewelry in the traditional necklace-and-earrings sense, but it is very much a beading book, and beading skills are such a useful doorway into jewelry making. For kids especially, learning how to thread beads, follow patterns, work with wire, and build little 3D shapes is a brilliant way to develop patience, fine motor skills, and confidence with craft materials.

The cover promises 3D beaded animal crafts for kids, with a focus on cute seed bead animals made with wire. The little fox on the cover is exactly the sort of project that catches attention — bright, cheerful, and very giftable. I can see this being a fun book for crafty kids, tweens, grandparents crafting with children, or even adults who secretly enjoy tiny beaded animals but pretend they are “helping the kids.”

What I like about this type of project is that it gives children a finished piece they can actually be proud of. These are not throwaway crafts. A beaded animal can become a bag charm, keychain, desk buddy, zipper pull, ornament, or little handmade gift. And if you have a child who loves collecting small things, well, prepare yourself — you may soon have an entire zoo made from seed beads.

There is also a nice connection here for beginner jewelry makers. Working with beads and wire in a simple 3D form helps build the same kind of careful hand skills used in beaded jewelry, wire wrapping, charms, and small accessories. So while I would be tempted to cross-post this over on our Kids Crafts section, I still think it earns its place here for anyone wanting beginner-friendly beading projects.

This book would suit kids who already enjoy detailed crafts, families looking for screen-free creative projects, or makers who want small bead projects that are playful rather than overly serious. I would suggest adult help for younger children, especially because seed beads and wire can be fiddly, and nobody needs a craft session ending with beads in the carpet forever. Although, let’s be honest, that may happen anyway.

My Shellie-style take? 3D Beaded Animal Crafts for Kids looks like a fun, colourful and practical beading book for young makers who like cute projects with a real finished result. It is crafty, giftable, a little bit nostalgic, and a lovely stepping stone into more detailed beadwork and jewelry making later on.

You can find the book here: 3D Beaded Animal Crafts for Kids.

Have you read?